mbenz1962

@StrangeDays ;

You actually posted your comment in the previous article and it is still visible.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/06/19/everything-new-in-watchos-5-beta-2-walkie-talkie-feature-now-active

There were two pretty similar articles posted only a day appart.  The first one was all new features in the Beta (2), and the second one was this Hands-On focused just on Walkie-Talkie.

Like I commented on a previous article: "...I hope there is some way to "deny" an incoming call." It seems that the Do not Disturb option will work when you can forsee a certian time when you don't want to be disturbed, but I can imagine this being cumbersome to remember resulting in not always being activated At the time when I made the original comment, the responses from other posters seemed to indicate that you had to accept the conversation invite for every "session", but after watching this video it seem that the comment everyone has been quoting, namely: "To establish the session, the user needs to select a contact they want to use Walkie-Talkie with, prompting a request on the recipient's Apple Watch asking to start a conversation. Once accepted, the connection is made, and users can communicate via the push-to-talk system. " applies to a one time addition of contacts into the group of people who you will use this feature with rather than every time you want to start a conversation. So, I hope you can just put your hand over the screen or something to prevent a shrill voice yelling at you from your wrist when you are indisposed. For example when you are in the restroom, impromptu meetings at work, while in the middle of a face-to-face conversation with another person, and the list goes on. I wonder if this "denial" would then some how alert your "caller" to the fact that you are in the middle of something so they just don't keep blowing you up.

I have a home with thick concrete construction throughout (that is how they are here in Germany) so the signal attenuation is extreme. I have my ISP provided router that connects to a simple Ethernet distribution block in the basement with it's four WAN ports. This distribution block then has wires that go to various floors in the house for wired connections. In my home office and in my bedroom (two different floors) I have two AirPort Extremes that then have my iMac and various other stationary devices connected via a wired connection. On the main level, I have an Airport Express that has my AppleTV connected to its WAN port. This works very well and AirPort Utility makes the set up drop-dead simple. The only change in the future might possibly be to swap the Express for the Extreme (AC) in the bedroom, but right now the majority of the wireless traffic (iPad video watching) is done on the floor with the bedrooms. The main floor has the TV with the AppleTV connected via Ethernet, and so the majority of the wireless traffic there is general surfing and messaging and such. I do have a few Homekit accessories on that floor as well, but their traffic seems to be minimal. As the kids continue to grow (and then use their own devices) this usage pattern may shift, but I don't think so. The only real shift I can forsee might be with the addition of more Homekit things as that market continues to mature and I add to my set up.

SendMcjak said:

LOL -- guys, I'm sure Apple has probably figured out the UI / UX since, you know, that's what they're the best in the world at ...

I'm sure you are right, but a curious omission from the demo none the less.

I am really intreagued by this feature, but I hope there is some way to "deny" an incoming call.  I am sure you can put your Watch on Theater mode or Do not Disturb, but I can imagine this being cumbersome to remember resulting in not always being activated when you don't want a a shrill voice yelling at you from your wrist.  For example when you are in the restroom, impromptu meetings at work, while in the middle of a face-to-face conversation with another person, and the list goes on.  I hope you can just put your hand over the screen or something.  I wonder if this "denial" would then some how alert your "caller" to the fact that you are in the middle of something so they just don't keep blowing you up.